Why Trump’s Filipino supporters continue to defend him

PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s job approval rating dips further south to a new historic low of 33 percent, with 61 percent disapproving of how he is doing his job as president, according to the latest Quinnipiac University Poll.

I have been getting a lot of questions from our readers and among Filipinos in different parts of the world: How can Filipinos defend Pres. Trump for all his lies? Lies about the calls of praise and accolades from the Boy Scout Leadership and from Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto Trump himself said he got which were debunked by both; Lies about the campaign not meeting with Russia, even under oath, only to change the story when exposés come out; lies, fabrication of stories of conspiracy about Obama not being born in the U.S. and Obama and British spies wiretapping and surveilling him; Lies in saying he did not have anything to do with Donald Jr.’s misleading statement regarding the latter’s June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer along with other Russian key figures?

The aforementioned falsehoods spoken by the president himself, many of which were captured on video coming from his mouth, were just a few of the many times Trump lied, as reported by vetted mainstream news media (MSM) like the Washington Post, New York Times, National Public Radio, Reuters, Associated Press, ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, etc.

Many of Trump’s critics cannot fathom how his Filipino-American supporters can defend his blatant acts to conceal the truth and not be transparent to the American people and the world?

I spoke online with Trump supporters via the Facebook group “Fil-Am Voter” and my Facebook page to get their perspectives on these nagging questions from among those who are not big fans of Trump. I asked respondents to focus on what is it about Trump that compels them to continue believing in him despite the lies as reported by the mainstream news media. I requested respondents not to zoom in to what they are against (Obama, Clinton, Democrats, etc.) primarily because these people are not the president — Trump is and he is now accountable to the American people.

A good friend who is a community leader in Alaska, Fil-Am Jesse Vizcocho, expressed his concern saying, “I think the question you raised Ms. Gel is problematic and controversial. We all know [the word] ‘lying’ has a negative connotation, and defending or supporting it will create negative implications. I can understand how others feel. Responding can mean bringing yourself deliberately to the ‘slaughterhouse’…or setting yourself up. Rephrasing the question or changing it might elicit a rational response from the ‘audience’ you are seeking…”

I did not rephrase the question because as far as I know, a statement bearing falsehood is a lie, but Vizcocho had a point there. Indeed, the initial reaction I got from very loyal Trump followers was that of resistance because to their mind, Trump did NOT lie.

Rachel Gunther, who The Filipino Channel’s daily newscast “Balitang America” even featured as she campaigned for Trump in California, declined to be quoted and said she would rather be interviewed by “alternative media.”

Another vocal Trump supporter, Frank Wenceslao, commented, “If you’d condemn President Trump for what you consider ‘lies’ he’s uttered which haven’t yet caused damage to the national interest, how did you treat in your column policy lies such as ‘If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your plan…’”

But I also got very impassioned substantive replies from those who shared their perspectives on the issue with such fervent conviction because of their love for the country:

“The starting premise of your argument is absolutely unacceptable, because you are accusing the POTUS, who was elected by maybe more than half of America if the votes were all legal, and is respected & honored by this same group of Americans, of lying, just because your sources, the liberal MSMedia says so??!! Time & time again, issue by issue they have been proven wrong, they have been thwarted with true facts coming straight from the White House’s Press Secretary & reported only by reliable news outlets like Fox News, FoxBusinessNews, & the conservative radio commentators like Mark Levin, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage & all other conservative reporters & writers all over the country, to which of course you have no knowledge of, because you only subscribe to the liberal sources of the news! P.S. we have to wait for all the investigation by the assigned prosecutors’ decision, the decision that he lied is not in our hands!”— Nimfa Gamez

“I take the position that unless these releases significantly affect a substantial part of a policy or issue, I let it be at that. Why? I won’t waste my time arguing or debating the truthfulness of a statement and lose sight of the important issues at hand. After all, aside from Washington (?), who among the politicians could rightfully claim he/she doesn’t lie? If Trump or Obama assert they don’t lie, I’ll take it with a grain of salt and move on.” — Sal Partible

“I give value to President Donald J. Trump’s accomplishments than mistakes. No one is perfect. Your mistakes [are] more than Trump. You disrespect his works. You are not contributing to the recovery of my country, not yours.” — Necita Udarbe

“Why discuss lies? Today’s market proves the administration is succeeding …. are you not tired of Trump bashing? Celebrate the accomplishments … there is always the next election, after all.” — Malou C. Mariano

“Trump is experientially a marketing guy. (Given my college educational and business [including sales & marketing] backgrounds, I can relate to him.) He’s been one since he was young. It has become his habit and old habits are hard to, if not never, die. The difference between a lie and hyperbole is that a lie is uttered with a malicious intent whereas hyperbole isn’t. I’d say most, if not all, U.S. Presidents (heck, all of us) have lied or have at least [bent] the truth. Only God is impeccable. IMO, the key question is: Has the lie affected U.S. policy or security. If not, then I’d simply dismiss it as being “no big deal” and charge it to human nature. I’m much more interested in Trump’s RESULTS that genuinely benefit Americans and the rest of the U.S.—overall.” — Manuel Tuazon

“Trump is not a liar…A lot of fake news out there. This is not what OAN [One America News] reported…they [at OAN] go against all the fake news out there. Like they said, they [in OAN] are biased to the truth and the Constitution of the United States. I will always defend my president because you Democrats and liberals cannot see through his good intentions for our country…” — Pamela Concon

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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos